“There is not a time in my life that music has not had a tremendous impact on. It is what helped me through school by giving me something to look forward to doing in the afternoon. Then I would practice for hours on end and play along with my heroes on CD (does anyone remember records?). I would imitate singers and sax players with my guitar, which I think influenced how I feel about the guitar as a solo instrument. Music seemed to offer consolation when the ravaging emotions of teenage love and the inevitable loss would linger. I would stay glued to the radio for hours, listening to the words of writers and notes of the instruments and somehow it took my mind off the heartbreak of the moment.

I have been writing songs with and without words since these early days. And – honestly - I think that I always had a good sense about what is good enough to be recorded and what is better off to be shelved or tossed. So I never did record these early musings and it’s probably better that way.

I started my recording career with a CD I completed on a tiny budget with a producer in Europe. I was already living in L.A. part time. My fascination with the Pacific Ocean is what made me pick the title “Pacific Serenade”. Now a decade later I am still proud of some of the songs, although production styles have changed so much since then.

In 2000 I recorded my second CD and decided to let Derek Nakamoto produce it. I loved his work with Gerald Albright and Keiko Matsui and he had such a genuine excitement for my vision and my ideas that it truly was a great fit. Derek also helped me fine-tune my live show as a musical director. I still call him for advice on things and am always happy when he goes on the road with me to back me up on keyboards.

When it came time to start recording again in 2005 I decided to work with Derek yet again, who had grown so much as a producer since our last record. I wanted this CD – which I decided to call “Love Notes” - to sound very organic. I used live musicians, even live strings, wherever I could and tracked a large part of the CD live in the studio. Derek composed the string arrangements for cello, violin and viola. It ended up being the most labor intensive recording I have done, but I believe you will like the result.

I hope to see you soon at one of my live shows.”

Chris Korblein, Summer 2006